Best-college Rankings: Rollins 2nd, Stetson 3rd

Two Central Florida colleges traded places Thursday in U.S. News & World Report's prestigious annual rankings of best colleges in the South.

Rollins College in Winter Park rated No. 2 among the top 15 ''regional'' colleges, and Stetson University in DeLand came in at No. 3. In last year's rankings, Stetson was second and Rollins, third.

''I was delighted to know we're moving up in the ranking,'' said Rollins President Rita Bornstein. ''It makes our hard work seem worthwhile.''

The University of Richmond in Virginia was the top-rated school in the South, the same position it held last year.

On U.S. News' list of the top 50 national colleges, Harvard University came in first. The University of Florida in Gainesville was ranked 47th - the only Florida institution to make the list.

U.S. News' rankings come two weeks after Money magazine released ratings of colleges that combined high educational standards with affordable tuition.

New College in Sarasota, a highly selective branch of the University of South Florida in Tampa, ranked no. 1 in the country. The University of Central Florida made the list of Top 25 public universities with low tuitions.

Neither institution was mentioned on U.S. News' lists.

UF, meanwhile, also made the magazine's lists for the top 50 undergraduate business programs - tied for No. 21 with three other colleges - and top engineering programs - tied for No. 28 with nine other colleges.

Bornstein said the rankings - based on the quality of students and qualifications and number of faculty members - help faculty morale, fund raising and student recruitment.

''Increasingly, American high school students are reading these polls,'' she said.